In today's highly networked world, it is important for computer and network professionals to have knowledge of network hardware and software configurations, network connections, and how data flows through the network under various conditions. A given network may include a very large number of diverse network devices. Such network devices may include, but are not limited to, routers, network hubs, switches, repeaters, network interface cards, and other related networking infrastructure. Therefore, it should be appreciated that obtaining an accurate global understanding of a given network's configuration and performance can be quite challenging. Also, in order to increase efficiency, bandwidth, and functionality of a given network, it is necessary to have a global understanding of how the given network is configured and how data traverses through the given network. Moreover, as new network devices are introduced into a given network, network management professionals are strained to understand how introduction of the new network devices may impact network operation, quality of service (QoS), and other aspects of network performance.